Posted!

Join the Conversation

Comments

Welcome to our new and improved comments, which are for subscribers only.
This is a test to see whether we can improve the experience for you.
You do not need a Facebook profile to participate.

You will need to register before adding a comment.
Typed comments will be lost if you are not logged in.

Please be polite.
It's OK to disagree with someone's ideas, but personal attacks, insults, threats, hate speech, advocating violence and other violations can result in a ban.
If you see comments in violation of our community guidelines, please report them.

Claude Giroux hurt in latest Flyers loss

Philadelphia Flyers forward Claude Giroux (28) kneels on the ice after getting injured in the third period against the Carolina Hurricanes at PNC Arena. The Carolina Hurricanes defeated the Philadelphia Flyers 2-1.(Photo: James Guillory/USA TODAY Sports)

RALEIGH, N.C. – Erik Karlsson was somewhere in the Boston area Friday night when he was suddenly relevant 700 miles away.

Flyers captain Claude Giroux was on all fours at the Carolina Hurricanes' ice at 4:45 of the third period, realizing his left leg was cut just above the ankle when he thought about the Ottawa Senators' defenseman.

Everyone in the Flyers' locker room breathed a sigh of relief when they learned that their franchise center would be all right, probable to suit up Saturday night against the New Jersey Devils.

Giroux is such a big part of the Flyers that not losing him for an extended period of time felt like a victory after losing 2-1 to the worst team in the Eastern Conference.

Lucky for the Flyers, Giroux wears Kevlar socks.

"I think it's a good one," Giroux said of the footwear. "I heard it helped me a little bit. I'm pretty happy about that."

There are different levels of cut-resistant socks and even Giroux's were penetrated, leaving blood pouring out of his left leg and causing trainers from both teams to be concerned enough that they took Giroux to the home locker room for immediate care.

"They saw it was cut and there was blood," the captain said. "Everybody kinda panicked. I didn't help the cause either by panicking."

Even the usually unperturbed Craig Berube panicked, as he also had visions of Karlsson as he stood behind the bench.

"It's going through your mind," the Flyers' coach admitted. "Guy can't get up off the ice. Fortunately, it's not [that bad]."

When Giroux left the ice, going down the home team's tunnel with assistance, the Flyers suddenly came to life. They were dormant for most of the first two periods, letting the lowly Hurricanes skate right by them.

A bad turnover by defenseman Mark Streit led to the first goal and a turnover by Matt Read, who started the game on the first line and ended it on the third, led to the second.

"I tried to give it to Vinny [Lecavalier], and the guy got a stick on it and they had a 2-on-1. Bar and in," Streit said. "It's a turnover. It can't happen and I gotta make a better play there for sure."

Streit wasn't alone Friday night.

The Flyers had only 14 shots in the game's first 40 minutes. It wasn't until Chris VandeVelde took a drop pass from Vinny Lecavalier at 8:45 of the third period and wristed it behind Carolina goalie Cam Ward that the Flyers actually had tangible offense.

"We gotta be better from the start," said goalie Steve Mason, who made 24 saves in defeat. "We can't come out and expect to have these miraculous comebacks. We have to be a better 60-minute team.

"It doesn't matter who you're playing. When you come away from a game with zero points, it's not a good result. We have to be a lot better. [Friday] was a game we needed to win, should have won, and we came up flat."

Giroux's injury aside, the game joined an ever-growing list of low points for the Flyers this season.

"Somehow we gotta turn the page here pretty quick," Streit said. "We've got a game here [Saturday]. Another huge game and as bad as the first two periods were, we can't let our heads hang. We gotta just put it behind us and go back at it [Saturday]. We have a really good team and we can play. We can't be negative, even in moments like that."

The positive, if there could ever be one, is that Giroux will face a better fate than Karlsson. He only had a slight limp and was wearing a dress shoe as he walked out of the visiting dressing room in PNC Arena. When his teammates saw him unable to get up off the ice, they thought it would be much worse than the team's fourth consecutive loss.

"Obviously very scary," Lecavalier said. "I'm not sure exactly what it was, but behind the skate ... when that happens, it could be very serious."